Special Instructions 2006B

This page provides
instructions for completing Phase II Science Programs for all Gemini
North and Gemini South instruments. It includes submission details and
procedural changes. Please read this page carefully!

Note:
As in the previous semester the Phase II deadlines are hard
deadlines for queue programs (see details below). Programs that have not completed
their Phase II definitions by the deadlines will be dropped from the queue.

Distribution of Phase II Skeletons

All observations
must be defined using the Observing Tool (OT) software. Gemini staff have
translated approved Phase I proposals into the Phase II
format for loading into the OT. In this process, the observations and other details entered in Phase I
are used to construct a ("skeleton") framework of your Science
Program.

Instructions on skeleton retrieval were sent to PIs during the week of June 12. As in previous semesters, the Phase II
skeletons are downloaded/uploaded directly from/to the Gemini telescope databases
to enable more efficient and rapid processing. See more information
on using the Observing Database.

A new release of the OT ("abeja") is available to support Semester
2006B Phase II preparation (as well as on-going 2005B and 2006A programs); do not use the previous "pulga" public release. Also, PIs
preparing PhaseIIs for GNIRS and GMOS-S IFU nod & shuffle should be
sure to use Abeja version 3.5 (released 30 June 2006) which includes
fixes for several bugs. There are OT installation instructions
available. If you are unfamiliar with the
OT, there is an OT tutorial that provides a useful
introduction. In addition, each instrument also has several web pages that
provide guidance on observing strategies and how to describe these in the OT.

Relaxation of Observing Condition Constraints and Other Observation Changes

For semester 2006B the queue was constructed by filling the expected
observing conditions (and overfilling the poorer than average conditions)
but limited to the total available queue time (i.e. the total science time
less scheduled classical nights and estimated Band 1 rollover programs). Band 3 programs,
which now occupy the lowest half of the queue, are unlikely to
be executed, and very unlikely to be completed, if they request conditions
that are better than average (especially in cloud cover and image quality).

As in the previous semester we encourage PIs of Band 3 programs, in particular, to
think carefully about relaxing the observation constraints within the
context of their overall time allocation and approved science goals (e.g. by
observing fewer targets). One useful analogy is to consider "how would I
attempt this program if it were classically scheduled and the conditions were
sub-optimal?".

New
in semester 2006B we have started a "poor weather queue". This is a
pilot program to fill telescope time under very poor, but usable,
conditions. Time spent on these programs will not be charged to the PI
or the partner countries. These are queue programs only but are
distinct from the "regular" band 1 to band 3 queue. They will be
executed only when nothing in the regular queue is observable. In
all other respects (Phase II deadlines, NGO and contact scientist
support, science archive data distribution) they are identical to other
Gemini programs.

If your program is in the poor weather queue,
it will be designated as "Band 4" above (and in the Phase II
definition); it will also be identified as such in the ITAC comments.

The
Observing Conditions component now also makes it possible to add
airmass or hour angle constraints. While needed for some
programs, use of these constraints is equivalent to a change to better
conditions constraints than approved by the ITAC. Therefore, any
use of the airmass or hour angle constraints requires approval via the change
request procedure.

If during detailed definition you find that the approved observations need to be modified,
please follow the change
request procedure.

User Support

The National Gemini Offices are responsible for Phase II support for the "established" facility and
visiting instruments as mandated by the Gemini Board. Phase II support for the
other instruments remains with the Gemini Observatory staff. In outline, the
Phase II process for the established instruments is as
follows:

PIs interact with NGO support staff to complete Phase II using the OT for
all observations with NIRI, including Altair, Phoenix, both GMOSs (including MOS mask
design), T-ReCS, GNIRS and Michelle.

All Phase II Science Programs are checked by NGO staff prior to being forwarded to
the Gemini Contact Scientist. (Note that Gemini CSs will return any Phase II
programs that are received directly from PIs, with instructions to contact
their NGO).

Gemini Contact Scientist checks Phase II Science Programs; if there is any
problem the Science Program will be returned to the NGO support staff. The NGO
staff will then iterate further with the PI.

Only
when the Gemini Contact Scientist agrees that the Science Program is
ready will it be activated in the queue for execution. The PI will be
notified that their program is in the active queue and that the Gemini
CS is now the primary contact point.

If you wish to change the primary contact for this program, e.g. to a
co-I, please e-mail both Sybil Adams (sadamsgemini.edu) and Simon Chan
(schangemini.edu) with a copy to both Gemini Heads of Science Operations
(ijorgensengemini.edu,
mwestgemini.edu)
and a copy to your National Gemini office.

To help us in tracking and resolving user problems,
questions and suggestions, and thereby improving the software and web pages,
please use
the Gemini HelpDesk. This allows us to ensure that no queries are missed and
help us improve the software and documentation. A streamlined
interface is
available for Phase II queries, keyed to your Gemini Program ID (e.g.
GS-2006B-Q-12). As with the regular HelpDesk interface,
your query will be
directed to the specific NGO or Gemini support staff. Support
assignments do change occasionally and you can verify the contact names
from the "interactive snapshot" of the Observing Database, accessed
from the contents list on the schedules
web page. (The NGO and Gemini support staff email addresses are listed on the
support staff web page).

Deadlines and Mechanism for Return of Completed Science Programs

The mechanism for submitting your completed Phase II Science Program is
by using the Store command in the Observing Tool and is the same
for all instruments. See the Observing Database
information for more details.

Dates for submission of completed Phase II information are (all 6pm local time):

Phase
II deadlines for all instruments

Deadline

Notes

12 July

Early submission, recommended for any programs and especially
advantageous for observations that can be executed early in the semester

11 August

Mandatory deadline for all queue programs. All Gemini North laser guide star (LGS) programs should use this deadline.

These deadlines apply to all queue programs including templates for
Quick Response / ToO observations. (In addition there are periodic
deadlines during the semester for GMOS mask design and corresponding
MOS observation updates only).

Programs that have not completed their Phase II definitions by the
deadlines noted above will be dropped from the queue or schedule. In exceptional
cases an exemption may be requested by emailing both Heads of Science Operations
(ijorgensengemini.edu and mwestgemini.edu)

In some cases GMOS PIs may be contacted directly and asked to submit their
Phase II early to provide sufficient observations for pre-imaging and MOS
spectroscopy at the very start of the semester. All MOS pre-imaging observation
descriptions must be submitted by the regular deadlines (see table above).

OT and Other Late-Breaking Changes for 2006B

The principal changes to the OT software are listed on the OT
Release Notes page. There are also several new policy changes. Here we summarise
how they affect Phase II observation definition and point the user to further
details.

Gemini North Laser Guide Star with NIFS and NIRI

The Altair Laser Guide Star
(LGS) system is being offered for use with the NIRI and NIFS
instruments in queue mode. Programs that use the LGS should
submit their Phase II information for the August 11 deadline only.
A call for proposals for Altair/LGS system verification has also been issued.

Michelle imaging polarimetry offered

Imaging polarimetry with Michelle is being offered for the first time in 2006B.

TEXES offered

The TEXES
high-resolution mid-IR spectrograph (loaned from the U. of Texas) will
be offered in a queue block on Gemini North. The PhaseII deadline
for TEXES proposals is October 9.

Group now come in two types, Scheduling Groups and Organizational Folders. Observations
which must be scheduled together should be organized into Scheduling
Groups. Folders should be used to organize related observations
that do not have scheduling constraints.

The
GCAL filter list has been updated to reflect filter changes.
The ND1.6, ND5.0, and HROS balance filters have been replaced
with ND2.0, ND4-5, and NIR balance filters. The NIRI and GNIRS OT libraries have been updated accordingly and the NIFS and GMOS libraries will be updated once new settings are available.

The "Notify PI"
checkbox in the OT observation
component is not yet active. Nonetheless, raw data are available
"immediately" (usually within minutes) from the Gemini Science Archive
using your OT (observing database) key for secure access to proprietary data. PIs will be notified by email
once their data have been quality assessed and ingested into the archive and are
available as a package along with other metadata (observing logs, calibrations
etc). See more information about data
retrieval
from GSA.

Status of Submitted Programs and Observations

The 2006B queue summary
and "interactive database snapshot" pages
show the current execution status of all queue programs and indicates
when data have been taken. (For the next level of detail, click on the
"execution status" link under each program to see the status of each
observation or on the execution log links in the contents list to see which
observations were executed each night).